Author: Gloria

In our office, we have this one weird wall that’s been missing something. We try to keep the space creative and fun, which we hope will reflect in the work we do.

As Adam does most of his writing there, he has one wall full of whiteboards, bulletin boards with notes and quotes pinned, and posters from some of his favorite bands.

The wall opposite that has served as an often-rotating canvas, full of some of my photos from abroad and random assortment of other things we liked. Even after almost three years of living here, we never really put that much effort into that wall, though I’ve been wanting to do a funky and fun gallery wall for almost as long.

When Jennifer, with Modern Map Art, reached out to me about her San Diego art print, I was so excited! Finally, that wall would have a focal point and I could begin making something fun out of it.

When I visited the website, I loved how many options there were.

In addition, each of these beautiful maps is available in five different sizes: 8×10, 12×18, 16×20, 18×24 and 24×36. I talked with Adam and we decided to go with the blue and yellow one in 16×20. I wanted to make sure it was large enough to be a focal point on that wall, and I loved how bright and fun the colors were.

A little over a week after ordering, the map had arrived! It came in a large hard cardboard tube (which Maeby later stole because she thought it was a fun toy), and when I unrolled it, I was in love.

The bright blues and yellows did not disappoint and that night I got to work on our wall. I initially planned to order a frame (and still will in the coming weeks), but I was so excited to get this map up that for now, I have it hung with some white binder clips and push pins. It took me awhile to figure out what to put up there with it, but since I wanted the wall to be a culmination of things Adam and I love, I knew it would be a nice collection of photos, musical pieces, and other miscellaneous items.

On the wall, we have:

Two canvas prints – One Adam’s friend did a loooooong time ago and one I made when I first moved here

Three framed photos – One of me and my teammates from college, one of two of our best friends, and one of Adam and his friends from when he first moved out here

A large print from my time abroad

A Beatles record – Adam’s favorite band of all time

A signed poster of another band Adam liked back in the day

My old license plate from the car I drove across country a little over three years ago (letters blocked out)

There are still quite a bit of blank spaces and the wall is pretty big, so we plan to add to it as we can. For now, I love that this wall is a representation of us, regardless of the mixed media types, and that it fully captures the creative and colorful vibe we’ve been trying to convey in our office for a long time.

Most of all, I love that this map is a fun and beautiful cartographic representation of San Diego. Adam and I plan to move back to New England in the coming years. Life in San Diego is wonderful but New England, full of its cold weather and sarcasm, will always be home. This print will always be representative of our beginnings and my time in America’s Finest City, and we can take it with us wherever we go.

Disclosure: I received this product for free in exchange for an honest review on my blog. All opinions are my own.

One thing that’s pretty cool about living here that I never experienced before is that you can leave your house, where it’s 80 degrees, and drive an hour east into the mountains, and there’s snow and it’s in the 30s or 40s.

Back in December, I heard that it snowed in the Laguna Mountain area (in San Diego county), so I grabbed Maeby and we made the drive east. A lot of the snow had already melted but there were still people out there sledding and it was very much worth heading out that way. Here are some highlights from our trip out there.

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It was during the week and as I mentioned, a lot of the snow had already melted, so it was an easy drive without traffic or any snow/ice on the roads. That being said, if you do choose to head out towards Laguna Mountain to go sledding or play in the snow on a weekend, I recommend getting up there early to avoid traffic. The best part about all of this though? Once you’re cold and/or done with the snow, it’s right back to warm, sunny weather.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am huge dog lover. In February of 2015, I began volunteering with a local dog rescue by helping out at adoption events. For me, it was a way to get involved in a bigger cause, feel like I was making a difference, and since I wanted a second dog but was not in a position to get one, it allowed me to play with and engage with other dogs.

In the summer of 2015, Adam and I were given the opportunity to temporarily foster a dog named Dorothy. She was a very neurotic dog, and a little possessive over her people, but we fell in love with her and a temporary foster situation became long-term until she found her forever home.

In September, Dorothy had gotten an incredible application in and when the family came to meet us, we knew it was a perfect fit. That afternoon, she went home.

Since Dorothy, we’ve done a few temporary fosters again, but also some of our very own long-term fosters.

There was Coleman (who I found on Craigslist and who I took in while I could network him to a rescue)…

Gracie, the sweetest and gentlest dog ever, and also a tri-paw…

and Sophie, a puppy from Mexico…

I would by no means call myself an expert on fostering, but there are some things I’ve learned throughout the process that will hopefully push anyone who’s considering it in the right direction. Here are some questions that I’ve been asked:

What is fostering?

When you foster a dog, you take the dog in and usually, all expenses (food, grooming, medical) are covered. All you have to do is love the dog! Some shelters offer this and most rescues offer this – the rescue we foster with doesn’t have a physical boarding location for its dogs; all of the dogs are in foster homes, learning what life is like in a home, often with kids, other dogs and cats.

What are the benefits of fostering?

For a rescue, it’s way more affordable than boarding a dog. Dogs benefit in that it’s a great way to prepare them for life in a forever home, especially since many dogs get very stressed out in boarding or in the shelter environment. Adopters can be pretty confident when talking to a knowledgeable and thorough foster about what kind of environment the dog needs and whether their home will be a good fit. For example, we have a large dog (Maeby!), so if we get an application where they already have a dog, we know that our foster will do likely do well with that dog. We still do meet and greets to make sure the dogs get along, but it’s helpful for the adopter to already know how the foster dog is living with another dog.

Does the foster get to choose where the dog ends up?

Different rescues have different processes, but with the one I foster with, we get to review the applications that come in and have final say in where the dog ends up. Our rescue believes that no one knows the dog better than the foster, so they should choose where the dog would be happiest and what kind of family would be best-suited for it.

How do you not fall in love with the dog and keep it?

This one is tough, haha. Within a day of getting a new foster dog, Adam always proudly declares we are keeping it. I have to be the voice of reason and say that we shouldn’t/we can’t. I really wanted to keep Gracie, and Adam really wanted to keep Coleman. But we try to be honest with ourselves about what we can afford and what’s best for the dog, and also remember that if we were to adopt one of our fosters, we wouldn’t be in a position to continue fostering and helping other dogs.

Can you adopt your foster dog?

A lot of foster families I know do end up keeping their foster dog! That’s what we call a “foster fail.” It depends on the rescue’s policy, but ours allows the foster family to adopt the dog.

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Any other questions? I’d love to hear from you. Share them in the comments below!

Anyone who knows me knows I love a good burger. Growing up, it didn’t matter where we went out to dinner, whether it was fancy or casual, or what the occasion was, I’d get a burger. I wish I was exaggerating but I’m not.

Naturally, living in San Diego has endless options for delicious burgers, and I’m not just talking about In-N-Out Burger.

Best Build-Your-Own Burger

Whether you go for the grass-fed beef or opt for the turkey burger, Great Maple’s burger patties are flavorful and made with the finest ingredients. What do I recommend you add on to your burger? Cheddar, bacon and caramelized onions. Upgrade your fries to the truffle fries (come on now, they’re only $1 more) and you’ve got yourself one hell of a meal.

Best Homemade Burger

To be honest, no matter what you choose to order at Dan Diego’s, you will know it’s made with love. This place is undoubtedly our favorite place to go in San Diego, because it’s local, family-owned, and everything is homemade. About the burger though? Let me tell you what it consists of:

Ground steak patty

Sharp cheddar cheese

Corned beef

Caramelized onions

Bacon

Horseradish Sauce

This thing is unreal. Pair this burger with one of their many unique beers on tap (or enjoy with my personal favorite, a “red cider” [half hard cider, half sangria]) and life will be perfect. I do advise that you don’t eat the whole thing and you save some room for dessert. One of the owners makes all of the desserts herself, and the bread pudding is everything you could ever possibly want in a dessert, so plan accordingly and thank me later!

Best Bacon Burger

What is the 50-50 burger? It’s half ground beef, half ground bacon. This is an obvious pick for bacon lovers. They even have a burger called the B’ B’ Bacon Burger, which includes bacon american cheese, bacon, bacon island dressing and a bacon pretzel bun. Excessive? Maybe. But if you’re a bacon lover, this is your spot. Pair it with one of their many, many amazing beers on tap and you’ll be a happy camper.

Well, this should probably be more of a “these past four months in review” but hey, what are you gonna do?

So what have I been up to since March?

My favorite people in the whole world came to visit.

Maeby turned 3. I love this picture and I love this dog.

I headed back to Connecticut to see family, friends, and celebrate my grandmother’s 99th birthday.

A week later, I had to go back during one of the hardest moments of my life.

Upon returning after my second trip to Connecticut, I spent a lot of time focusing on myself. Time at the beach with Maeby definitely helped.

I headed to Houston for work.

Caught some amazing sunsets while my mom and her boyfriend were in town…

Hiked Torrey Pines with them…

Caught a Padres game at Petco Park.

Survived a pretty epic thunderstorm in San Diego and the first real rain storm we’ve gotten in a looooong time.

And met this handsome guy while volunteering at an adoption event.

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Obviously this isn’t all that I’ve been doing, but definitely some highlights. I’d say over the past few months, there have been some incredible lows and some very incredible highs, but overall, everything has been good.

I’ll get into the details of life’s lows a little later on, but for now, I want to know:

I recently had the opportunity to try out Jazzercise College Area (in La Mesa, right near SDSU). If you’re like most people, you probably hear the word “jazzercise” and think of women wearing leg warmers and leotards. The bad news is, you won’t get to wear that leotard you’ve been holding onto, but the good news? It’s nothing like you think it is, and it’s everything you hope it would be.

This studio is conveniently located right near SDSU (at 6360 El Cajon Blvd), so it wasn’t a surprise to me when I saw a couple of college students at the class I attended. One girl even brought her boyfriend, who felt awkward and laughed a lot in the beginning, but after a few songs, he was winded and running to grab his water bottle.

Like most studio classes I’ve attended (including barre, spinning and yoga), the class was comprised of women and men of all ages – college students, as I’ve mentioned, as well as individuals in their 50s and 60s.

When I walked in, the instructor, Allison, was waiting at the front desk to check people in. She was very friendly and explained the class to me and also helped me pick out weights (I went with 5-pound dumbbells) and a mat. I put that stuff off to the side until we got to that portion of the class.

Each class is about 55-60 minutes long, with a brief warmup, 35 minutes of cardio, and about 25 minutes of weight training/ab work. I’ve never attended zumba, but I imagine the cardio portion is similar to that. We danced our way through several songs, and the energy in the room was infectious. You could tell that Allison really loved teaching the class, and that the people attending really loved the workout – everyone would clap, sing out loud and get really into just having fun and letting go throughout all of our dance moves.

After completing this portion of the class, we grabbed our weights and a mat, and used the weights for some arm strength training, and then used the mat to do some ab work and leg/glute work. The leg/glute portion was similar to what we do in barre, and was definitely a challenge after dancing for 35 minutes. To wrap up class, we stretched it out, using various moves from yoga.

After class, Allison checked in with me and some of the other new attendees to see how we liked it. I love when the instructor seems to genuinely care that you’ve had a positive experience, so this was definitely one more thing that I liked about this studio.

Now that class is over, would I attend another one at this location? Absolutely. It was an energizing way to start my Sunday, and I had so much fun getting in a great workout. This is definitely the most fun I’ve had working out in a long time.

If you’re in the San Diego area, I recommend stopping by Jazzercise College Area to get in a fun and challenging workout. You’ll have a great time, leave in a better mood and feeling more energized, and you’ll definitely want to come back.

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Have you ever tried Jazzercise? What’s one workout that you’ve never done but you’ve been dying to try out?